Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success! Henry Ford…

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April 1, 2014

Mike's Picks and Commentary

FREE Stuff!



Happy April Fools Day! No joke, but I've found a few "freebies" you'll want to take advantage of right here on DeallerELITE. Who doesn't like free stuff?…

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There are many conferences and I have been blessed to be a part of some of them lately.  My take on Advertising is quite a bit different than most.  And so, ironically, I became involved in a conference as different as I am.  The Automotive Super Conference in Charlotte NC March 13th and 14th is yes, a Biblically based conference.  But, since I am probably the least biblically based speaker I thought I would share why this conference is "for everyone." 

I was involved in this…

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When you make advertising decisions as a manager or an owner of a dealership, I am certain you have felt a few of these things before.  You probably wonder if you are making a "good buy" or maybe you wonder if there is anything else you could spend your budgeted money on.  If you are the owner and have managers making the decision,  I know you are wondering…

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Do you remember faxing in credit apps, doing deals on a hand shake and scheduled deliveries 5 days later when the customer got his check from the bank?  Maybe even remember this business before the internet and dealer track?

Then you are an old dog.....

As I reach the 45 year old milestone this year, I have never felt younger in so many ways.  Why would you as a car guy read any further along in this post when I am talking about feeling young?   Because for me…

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I thought it might be a nice gesture to share what I think are three major mistakes made by dealers when buying direct mail.  

1st.  Buying for the budget.  Many dealerships buy just because they have budget left to spend.  This on it's own is not the problem.  The problem lies in the fact that normally when this is the case they will just buy any piece that has a current theme on it and expect it to win.  An example would be, right now November is coming up and dealers who…

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I had the great pleasure of being part of the AutoCON team this year for the first annual event. It was held at the Aria hotel and casino in Las Vegas earlier this September. During the conference, I was able to see all my automotive heroes speak and they all inspired me to become even better. Some of them…

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Many months ago I hired a BDC rep who proved to be one of the best I've ever had. Her name is Trish Keller, and is a dE member. She possessed very good writing and communication skills, a great personality, and excellent phone skills. But that later changed when she was plagued by something unforeseen and debilitating.

You see, Trish had woken up one day, before we ever met, with a tingling sensation in her left arm. The next day it was completely numb. She since had multiple…

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Hey dE! I don't get to blog much since I'm always working on making dE the best website ever, but since I'm working my 3rd 8:30-9er, I figured I can spare a few minutes.

 

I was sitting here doing my work as usual when hunger struck. Was thinking a Snickers bar would do the trick. So I got up to walk to the vending machine. Mind you, I love Snickers! So I got out my dollar bill and saw…

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Or QR?

 

As I was working on dealerELITE the other night, something occurred to me while playing with QR Codes... why do some technologies fail, and others prosper? Do we as a consumer/user have something to do with…

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I’m often asked “what makes an Internet department successful”? To be honest, I’ve never been able to directly answer that question with a simple answer because so much must be considered when it comes to defining the steps that lead to success. One thing is for certain in my mind: there are two basic doctrines involved when it comes to starting an internet department. The first one allows technology to do the steps needed to make more sales. The second embraces technology to assist in a… Continue